Charleston County Board considers new sex education program

The Charleston County School Board is considering changing its sex education curriculum. Some parents are concerned that emphasis will no longer remain on abstinence, but rather safe sex.

The program in consideration is called Making Proud Choices!.It will teach both abstinence and contraceptive use for students in grades 8the through 12th grade.

Research suggests it will discourage unsafe sexual behavior among already sexually active teenagers. Board members say they are working with the developers of Making Proud Choices!, in an effort to make the program age appropriate so that parents will be more comfortable about the curriculum.

"We don't want anything that has the tone or the implication that sex is fun for young people," says Charleston County Board member, Chris Collins. "We don't want to pat them on the back and say you have our approval. So we're looking for something that's more preventative and more abstinence based."

South Carolina has the 12th highest teen birth rate in the Country. The school board will meet again in August to talk about possible changes. They could ultimately decide not to use the Making Proud Choices! program at all.